Benjamin Kamphuis, author of the Shades of Aura Series – The Walls of Toterrum, writes to celebrate all the creatures within our ecosystems, advocate for mental health support, create fantasy worlds with epic magic systems, and to provide stories to encourage lovers of Pokémon and other video games to love reading again.
Being a survivor of severe anxiety, Benjamin believes in community and writes books supporting the need for others to navigate a world where things aren’t always right in our heads.
Olivia J. Bennett (she/they) is the award-winning author of the novel, Casually Homicidal. In 2018, her flash fiction “Clutching Roses” was awarded a National Gold Medal from Scholastic Art & Writing, and her creative nonfiction and short stories have been published in literary journals such as Euphemism and Outrageous Fortune.
Their writing has been described as “visceral, honest, and evocative” and “gritty, yet poetic,” and their work often explores themes of mental health, being an eldest daughter, and overcoming past trauma. She loves to include morally-gray female heroines, atmospheric settings, and genre-bending horror in her contemporary, fantasy, and science fiction works.
When not creating, Olivia is most likely baking cookies, binge-watching Naruto or Lost with their partner, or cuddling their two cats, Baloo and Bagheera. She can be found somewhere between the corn and the big blue sky in Illinois.
Rashun Carter, a Louisville, Kentucky native and graduate of the University of Louisville with a Bachelor of Science in Communication, is an author of diverse genres, including science fiction, fantasy, mystery/thriller, romantic comedy, and self-help. His works include the Wraith series, the award-winning thriller Stalker, the romantic comedy Bad Guys Finish Last, and the self-help books Restore and Food for Thought: Get Your Serving.
Through his writing, Rashun aims to inspire, entertain, and unite readers, showcasing his talent for weaving compelling stories and delivering meaningful insights.
As the author of the Sentient trilogy, Jay Vanlandingham’s writing explores the transformative power of empathy. “Through meaningful connection, empathy can flourish, opening us to the freedom of all beings—ourselves, animals, and nature alike,” he says. “Above all things, I wish for peace and serenity in my life, as well as the lives of all beings.”
Vanlandingham is in the process of publishing his third novel, Sentient Being, which serves as the final installment of the Sentient trilogy. This series delves into the depths of the human spirit, with themes that reflect the author’s core values: freedom, non-judgment, and compassion for all beings. Sentient Being examines humanity’s response to the climate crisis, our relationship with animals, and other pressing issues, including immigration and LGBTQIA+ representation.
Melissa R. Collings is the award-winning author of the bittersweet love story, The False Flat. Before Melissa started writing, she worked as a surgical physician associate in Nashville, where one of her favorite procedures was reconstructing a lower-lumbar tattoo after a back surgery. Her stories, like her, are always a mix: light and dark, laughter and tears, outlandish and grounded, beautiful and ugly, glitter and charcoal smears. Her interests are way too varied; her imagination never fails to get her into trouble; and she lives by her life philosophy: nothing is impossible, and everything is better with glitter—except surgical wounds.
Q: When did you first catch the writing bug? What drove you to persist? A: I’m originally a surgical Physician Associate (medical provider). I worked 50-60 hours per week doing spine surgery, rounding on hospital patients, and seeing patients in the clinic. I enjoyed my job, but when my husband and I were expecting our first child, I decided to take a long hiatus from medical work and stay home to raise our daughter. I’d worked since I was very young, so this was a steep adjustment for me. I needed something for myself, so I turned to a psychological suspense novel I’d started before college.
Back then, I’d been working as a receptionist and had a lot of down time. I had an idea for a book and started writing it to fill my time. I didn’t think anything would come of it. But when I was at home with a newborn, I picked that novel up again, and I discovered a whole new world.
Iris Applewood is a cozy romance and mystery author crafting worlds of wonder from her home in Southern Indiana. She loves blending the boundaries between the mundane and the magical. In her free time, Iris enjoys experimenting in the kitchen, creating dishes and perfumes that feel like potions.
When she’s not mixing spices or spinning stories, she treasures her sleep, where she often dreams up her next big idea. Through her writing, Iris hopes to add a touch of enchantment to everyday life, inspiring readers to find magic in the most unexpected places—even in their own backyards.
It takes a rich and diverse mind to excel at both math and writing poetry, and author Angela Chaidez Vincent has just that sort of mind. I was lucky enough to share a table with her at the Louisville Book Festival this year where I learned that she is also a really fun person to hang out with!
Arena Glow author Chaidez Vincent’s background is in mechanical engineering, mathematics, and instrumental music performance. Her work is infused with numerical winks and a collagist impulse that seeks to join vigorous dreaming with the subterranean and overlooked. She has an MFA in Poetry and keeps her tech side smiling by teaching precalculus and computer science. Angela resides in Fresno, California with her wife, Lisa.
Q: How did publishing your first book change your process of writing?
A: There was such relief (and a fair amount of amazement) in knowing that I can actually see a major literary undertaking through to completion! I feel much more confident in my ability to do it again.
Christina Wallace is an author of Middle-Grade, YA, & Romance novels. She has been a lifelong writer, but didn’t enter the world of publishing until 2023. Wallace grew up in a military family and has lived in many places. During her own time in the U.S. Navy, she was deployed to Afghanistan and the Philippines, where she met her husband, who was stationed with another unit. Even during her Navy career, she worked tirelessly on her writing.
The idea for Wallace’s novel, The Light Keeper, first appeared during NaNoWriMo 2017, and from there, it was developed into a novel and eventually grew into a series.
Now, Christina enjoys sharing her stories far and wide, while also inspiring children to explore their creative side and to follow their dreams. She lives in Florida with her husband, two children, a dog, and a cat.
Q: When did you first catch the writing bug? What drove you to persist?
A: I began writing obsessively when I was in Middle School, about 22 years ago! I’d always had a very active imagination, my friends and I role-played our favorite shows all of the time. In the middle of 7th grade we moved and I didn’t make friends easily. So, I poured myself into writing. The characters I wrote all had tight friend groups, and it made me feel less lonely. The more I wrote, the more I knew sharing stories was what I was made to do.
Akil O. Smith is a Florida-based writer of sci-fi, poetry, and drama. He is the author of ALAM Beginnings, an award-winning science fiction novel set in the mid-80s.
ALAM Beginnings is the story of a young boy who has already weathered unimaginable loss as he wrestles with the sudden return of his mother, previously believed dead but now alive under mysterious circumstances. It is set in the far reaches of the Andromeda galaxy where a relentless conflict rages between the ruthless Rigions and the courageous Zorians. Get your copy today!
Q: When did you first catch the writing bug? What drove you to persist? A: I think the verdict is still out to say I’ve caught the writing bug. Mainly because I do have stories I feel will work better as film and all. However, all praise goes to my mom as I had dreams of the characters I am writing now. Tiyshio, Shawn, Nighcos were all people who showed up in my dreams and ever since I told her about those dreams, and her telling me to put it in a journal I have only continued to do such even so now. With any projects that come to mind.
Dr. Joel Anthony Hamilton is the author of the Mud Crab Kingdom series, which is set in a world where “being mud-skinned is worse than murder, and being “different” is worse than being mud-skinned.”
